Monday, February 4, 2013

Reasonable Gun Control

I believe that one way to reduce the number of mass
killings in our country is to 1) have reasonable gun control; 2) do a better
job of treating mental illness; 3) reduce our culture of violence, particularly
in the entertainment industry and the video game industry.We need solutions to all three of these
problems.During the next two weeks I’m going to write a
blog about each of these topics.

Today I’m writing about reasonable gun control.I do this with some trepidation.I have friends who strongly believe that
gun-control is a waste of time.I
respect their views; however the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut were a
tipping point.If we can’t do something
about gun control after such a horrific event, then I’m not sure what is going
to prompt us to change.

Before I start let me say I don’t own a gun, I’ve never
owned a gun, and have probably shot a gun less than five times in my life.I believe that a person should have a
constitutional right to bear arms.I don’t
believe in removing the 2nd Amendment.I believe that hunters should be able to
hunt.

I also think it was silly for President Obama to release
a picture showing him skeet shooting last August.Okay—now President Obama likes to skeet
shoot.He doesn’t become more
intelligent about the issues surrounding gun violence because he knows how to
point a gun and hit a clay pigeon.

Some statistics

According to ABC News 300 Americans die every day from
gun violence.Almost 23,000 people have
been victims of gun violence in the last two years.

According to Christian Century 40 percent of all firearms
purchased in the United States are sold without checking if the buyer has a
record of crime, drug addiction, or mental illness.

The question that is driving my thoughts is, “what is
reasonable when it comes to gun control?”

Is it reasonable to limit a gun clip to ten, or fifteen,
or twenty bullets?

The shooter who almost killed Gabbie Gifford did murder a
young girl with the 12th clip in his gun.

Is it reasonable to have a background check for all
firearms purchased in the country?

Certainly this wouldn’t work all the time and wouldn’t
stop the black-market of gun sales.But
we have procedures similar to background checks in other instances.I can’t drive a car without passing a test
and getting my license renewed every four or five years.I’m not even proposing that gun owners have
to have a license.I’m just suggesting
that a background check will stop guns from getting in the wrong hands in many
situations.

Is it reasonable to ban semiautomatic rifles?

I think so.For
discussion sake let’s say I need a semi-automatic weapon because I want to
defend myself from a criminal.How often
will I need that gun?Even if I was accosted
by a criminal would my semi-automatic weapon help me in that situation?

If we passed reasonable gun control legislation the
number of Americans who die every day from gun violence would decrease.According to Christian Century after a 1996
mass shooting, Australia passed aggressive gun-control legislation which
included the buyback of 600,000 semiautomatic weapons.Gun homicides and suicides plummeted.Australia hasn’t experienced a mass shooting
since.

Polls show that Americans want something.According to Christian Century 74% of NRA
members and 84% of gun owners think submitting to a background check is a
reasonable condition for gun ownership.

I don’t think that reasonable gun control is the only
solution to the issue of violence in America, but as Gabby Giffords eloquently
said last week, “too many children are dying.”

The next blog will
be on the topic of doing a better job of treating mental illness